Ajahn Jayasaro tells an anecdote about how Ajahn Chah read someone's mind that they were really hungry and going to take more rice than usual.

I recall listening to an Ajahn Brahm dhamma talk where he says that Ajahn Chah was answering someone's questions of which they told Brahm was jibberish, but made perfect sense to Brahm because he said Chah was answering his questions by reading his mind. I can't find that talk now though.

Regardless, it disappoints me that the people involved in these anecdotes did not simply ask Chah whether or not he was telepathic. (What's the harm in asking?) Or, in the case of Jayasaro, think that there may be more plausible explanations other than his teacher having extraordinary superpowers. (Maybe Chah knew that the disciples was sick for a couple days prior and would probably be hungry that day?)

I'd imagine the whole telepathy thing is just a byproduct of students' romantic, mystical ideations about their teacher, and not a real phenomenon.

Last edited by Viscid on Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

Viscid wrote:I'd imagine the whole telepathy thing is just a byproduct of students' romantic, mystical ideations about their teacher, and not a real phenomenon.

Not according to the Buddha.

"Kevatta, there are these three miracles that I have declared, having directly known and realized them for myself. Which three? The miracle of psychic power, the miracle of telepathy, and the miracle of instruction.

"And what is the miracle of telepathy? There is the case where a monk reads the minds..mental events..thoughts..ponderings of other beings, and individuals, [saying,] 'Such is your thinking, here is where your thinking is, thus is your mind.'"Then someone who has faith..conviction in him sees him reading the minds... of other beings... He reports this to someone who has no faith and no conviction, telling him, 'Isn't it awesome..astounding,..great the prowess of this contemplative. Just now I saw him reading the minds... of other beings...'"Then the person without faith..conviction, would say to the person with faith and conviction: 'Sir, there is a charm called the Manika charm by which the monk read the minds... of other beings...' What do you think, Kevatta — isn't that what the man without faith, without conviction, would say to the man with faith and with conviction?""Yes, lord. ""Seeing this drawback to the mirale of telepathy, Kevatta, I feel horrfied,..disgusted with the miracle of telepathy."

To study is to know the texts,To practice is to know your defilements,To attain the goal is to know and let go.

Moggalana wrote:Have you ever heard of so-called mirror neurons? Maybe telepathy works similar, only more subtle. Or it's just gibberish...

personally i think this is a perfectly reasonable way to look at the phenomenon. i have been around monks who on several occasions have done things like this, to both me and a friend, just known our minds without asking questions or us even having spoken to them yet, and not just on trivial matters but specific topics. its out there. students of ajaan mun report he could do the same.my idea here in regards to mirror neurons is, if one has enough insight into their own minds, and if mirror neurons "fired" in their minds due to contact with another, then essentially they are not reading the other's mind, but knowing their own minds. does this make sense? this is why you would gain this ability through meditation.

สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat

jcsuperstar wrote:if one has enough insight into their own minds, and if mirror neurons "fired" in their minds due to contact with another, then essentially they are not reading the other's mind, but knowing their own minds. does this make sense? this is why you would gain this ability through meditation.

Sure. I'm convinced that cultivating self-awareness and compassion results in heightened empathy, and that good teachers are very good psychologists who can read people well. But you cannot call this ability 'telepathy,' as we all have this ability to a certain extent; empathy is not extraordinary. Knowing how other people are feeling and thinking based on facial expression or context is an essential aspect of social communication.

If one practices Samatha concentration meditation to the fourth jana then telpathy is one of the possible attainments....as is knowledge of past lives....being able to see beings in other realms......being able to fly.

jcsuperstar wrote:if one has enough insight into their own minds, and if mirror neurons "fired" in their minds due to contact with another, then essentially they are not reading the other's mind, but knowing their own minds. does this make sense? this is why you would gain this ability through meditation.

Sure. I'm convinced that cultivating self-awareness and compassion results in heightened empathy, and that good teachers are very good psychologists who can read people well. But you cannot call this ability 'telepathy,' as we all have this ability to a certain extent; empathy is not extraordinary. Knowing how other people are feeling and thinking based on facial expression or context is an essential aspect of social communication.

empathy is way different from what I'm talking about experiencing.

สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat

This is an interesting topic to me and I have a fair amount of questions about the topic of discussion, psychic powers, telepathy and miracles? In truth the three words individually include consideration for absence of knowing what really happened or there is a mystery of some sort that people generally aren't familiar with and maybe wonder about. A manner of labeling something that holds what might result in delusion of some sort at some time or other.

Quite simply, in my opinion, it's a manner of attainment antiquated with mental formations and some sense of what might be considered a knowing presence with the formless realms where abiding in awareness includes seeing with the mind as if mind functions like a the sight sense door despite the absence of visual seeing. Such manners of abiding could be construed as communing, which would require inscrutable considerations.

In general, as I'd describe what I imagine such perspectives to be derived from, it's a manner of abiding with beings of the non-physical realms with a familiarity of such realities where the dynamics of reality in the presence of human beings holds particular dramas concerning the journey's of many beings interacting and interplaying of different dimensions, conscious and subconscious, and different conditioned realities associated with the different dimensional realities. Or, a clarity of knowing which is inherently freeing pertaining to the reality of transcendent awareness, in some respects, that which knows resolution of indifferences.